


All Too Well

by orphan_account



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-02-16 10:26:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2266275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The summer after Yuri's senior year of high school seemed promising enough - spending time with his friends, getting a part-time job, and visiting the coast near his home were all things he'd planned on doing. But throwing Estelle's friend from across the country, Flynn, into the mix turned Yuri's plans for a peaceful summer upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Flynn

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I'm super excited to be posting the first chapter of All Too Well. This is my first multi-chapter fic, so please bear with me if updates aren't very quick. I'll do the best I can. ouo Enjoy!

The day Flynn arrived was, apparently, a very special day. Yuri, sprawled out on the plush, pink carpet in Estelle’s room – which he insisted was much more comfortable than her bed or sofa – really didn’t find the groggy first Saturday of their summer break special at all. Estelle sat in front of her vanity mirror with perfect posture, hands in her lap, as Judy stood behind her and braided a lock of her hair towards the bun perched atop her head. Estelle was practically glowing, trying to contain a grin in her excitement, but her eyes shined.

Flynn and Estelle’s parents were old friends, Flynn’s father having worked for the wealthy Heurassein family in the past, and he and his mother were coming to visit from the other side of the country. Estelle had squealed into Yuri’s ear through the phone at far too early an hour that morning that he absolutely needed to come over as soon as possible (hurry up, get dressed,  _it’s important_ ) so he could meet this friend of hers. To be frank, he wasn’t excited. Flynn sounded nice and all, but he didn’t understand Estelle’s hype over him. The rest of the house was in a much calmer state, preparing at a leisurely pace for the guests compared to Estelle.

“There. All finished.” Judy’s light voice filled the growing, yet comfortable silence growing between the three as she stood back to admire her work. “How’s it look?”

“Oh, it’s wonderful! Thank you so much, and I’m sorry, I just haven’t seen him in  _years –_ ”

“So you want to look nice, and you do. There’s no need to worry so much, Estelle.” Judy placed a hand on her friend’s small shoulder. Estelle smiled faintly, looking down at her hands.

“Thank you, Judith. I’ll calm down, it’s just…I’m really glad you’ll both be meeting him. Since he’ll be here all summer, I’m excited to spend it with my favorite people.” Her smile widened into a grin, and Yuri couldn’t help smiling back in the mirror from across the room. He was just thinking of what to say when a maid’s voice trailed in through a crack in the door.

“Miss, your guests have arrived.”

Estelle leapt from her seat, whipped around to look at her hair again, sucked in a deep breath, then turned and hurried towards the door. Yuri and Judith exchanged amused looks before following her through the long halls of the lavish estate her family lived in. She was practically living there alone what with how busy her parents were, and her friends made sure to visit often so she wouldn’t be bored to tears as she often was growing up. Yuri was alone for most of his life, too, and really would rather not see someone like Estelle experience the same thing.

The quick _clack-clack_ of her shoes on the marble floor echoed in front of Yuri and Judith until coming to an abrupt stop at the staircase leading down to the front entrance. Once they had caught up to her, she was already flying down the steps towards a young man and a middle aged woman handing their bags to another maid at the front door.

“Thank you, but really, I could take them – oh, Estellise!” The guy, whom Yuri assumed was Flynn, turned towards her just as she threw her arms around him. When Yuri and Judith reached the bottom of the stairs, she had already hugged Flynn’s mother as well.

“Ah, Flynn, Ms. Scifo, these are my friends, Yuri and Judith,” she said, gesturing towards them, “and um, this is Flynn and his mother.” Yuri caught the split-second look of disgust that crossed the woman’s face when she saw them, but she covered it up well, striding over to shake their hands briefly. She then promptly asked where her room was, because oh, Estellise dear, it was quite a long trip, and kissed her son on the cheek before disappearing up the stairs.  _Geez. Nice to meet you, too._ Yuri watched her leave hastily and mentally stuck his tongue out at her.

Flynn came up to shake their hands as well, but with much less force and more friendliness. Yuri was, honestly, pleasantly surprised. Seeing the guy up close, he was  _really_  good looking – about the same height as Yuri, but his shoulders were broader, his skin tanned and his hair a bright, spiky mess of blond. He wasn’t afraid of eye contact – and his eyes were a dark seafoam blue – and greeted them with a calm familiarity. Yuri wasn’t one to make sweeping judgments of others based on looks, but from Flynn’s behavior and his getup (button down shirt tucked into slacks, was Yuri really surprised) he assumed he was just some boring rich kid.

Boring, but there was something…odd about him. They hadn’t met before; Yuri was sure of it. He’d never seen this guy before in his life. There were no striking similarities to anyone else he knew, so Yuri was confused as to why something in his gut said that he knew him.

There really wasn’t any use contemplating it, as weird as the feeling was. When the three of them turned to Estelle, she rocked back on her heels and giggled a bit.

“Okay, so, what do you all want to do first?”

Flynn coughed and rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. “Actually, uh…I’m kind of starving.”

“Okay! Let’s have lunch, then. I’ll meet you all out back.” Estelle scampered off towards the kitchen, leaving her three friends standing together in an awkward, stuffy silence. Judith quietly cleared her throat.

“Shall we be going, boys?” She started walking in the direction of what Yuri presumed was the back door, and he followed, with Flynn bringing up the rear.

“Sorry, I’ve forgotten how her house is laid out.”

Yuri snorted. “You’re not the only one. This place is pretty huge,” he said, lifting his eyes to a glittering chandelier far above his head. When they’d successfully navigated their way through another small maze of halls (not without second-guessing the direction they were going more than once), they finally reached the back door. It was plain to see the gardens through the glass, but swinging open the doors, Yuri had to question just how wealthy Estelle’s family was. It wasn’t the first time he had.

As uncomfortable as the extravagance of her house made him, he made sure to come over often anyway. He’d only visited the garden once or twice in the past, but it was by far his favorite place on the property.  _Something_  about the countless rooms full of antique furniture that no one would ever stay in bothered him. Something like the fact that money like the Heurasseins’ could  _maybe_  go towards something more productive. His train of thought trailed away as he, Judith, and Flynn approached a roofed patio surrounded by a spectrum of blooming flowers. He sat down next to a clump of purple lilacs and took one in his fingers.

It took about a minute of silence for Flynn to clear his throat and begin to speak. Yuri really hoped the guy wasn’t one for small talk.

“So, are you planning to attend university?” Judith didn’t answer. Yuri lazily dragged his eyes from the lilacs up to Flynn and realized he was the one being spoken to.

“Yep.”  _Well, that’s a lie._

“Ah, close to home, or…?”

“I was looking at DU.”

“Dahngrest?  All the way at the other end of the state, huh.”

“Yeah. What about you?” Yuri really didn’t care, and already knew his answer would be some Ivy League school way over on the east coast where he lived, but asked out of politeness.

“Um, Harvard.” Yuri almost laughed aloud at how he’d been right, but managed to control himself. Besides, the poor guy looked pretty embarrassed already, rubbing the back of his neck (a habit, Yuri guessed) and averting his eyes. Maybe he was more modest than Yuri thought a rich kid could be. Of course, he knew Estelle, but he had always assumed she was a special case.  _Huh. That’s probably why they’re friends, I guess._

Yuri was still trying to think of something to say when Judy cut in. “My, my, you must be very intelligent. What will you be studying?”

“Law.” Yuri was surprised – not by what he said, exactly, but more how he said it. Flynn had been open, conversational, up until Judy had asked her question and it seemed like any life previously in him had been sucked right out. His voice fell flat and although he averted his eyes again, it was less out of awkwardness and more out of a need to glare at the nearest bush at fiercely as possible. Yuri kind of wanted to know what he hated so much about law school, but he also kind of didn’t want to put Estelle’s friend in a horrible mood when they’d barely started a conversation.

Another bout of silence among the three threatened to draw itself out for longer than Yuri was comfortable with when Estelle’s voice traveled through the garden, telling them lunch would be there soon. As she approached, he really hoped she could see how much he was thanking her through his eyes.

Estelle took a seat next to Flynn, her glee at all of her closest friends being together completely overshadowing any tension surrounding the group before. Her eyes darted between her friends, who all seemed much more comfortable now that she was there. “What were you all talking about?”

“College. In fact, Yuri said he wanted to go to Dahngrest. I never would have guessed,” Judy said, not bothering to look over at Yuri. She knew he was glaring at her. Of course, Estelle didn’t notice the dirty looks Yuri was giving Judith and turned to him excitedly.

“Oh my gosh, Yuri, that’s great! I thought you weren’t interested in going to college.” She clapped her hands together and looked so genuinely happy for him that he figured he’d have to lie again.

“Yeah, well, I changed my mind,” he grumbled, and focused on the lilacs again. Estelle deflated a little but perked right up again as their lunch was brought to them. While she thanked the elderly man serving them, Yuri glanced across the table and met Flynn’s eyes. He looked pretty ticked. At Yuri. Yuri amusedly thought how he avoided the topic of law school to keep Flynn in a good mood and managed to piss him off anyway. Apparently his amusement showed on his face because Flynn’s eyes darkened for a second before he focused on eating his lunch.  _Whoops._

Yuri really didn’t want to argue with Estelle’s friend. He really,  _really_  didn’t want to fight him, if that’s the kind of guy Flynn was – solved problems with his fists. He was already proving to have a temper. Not that he couldn’t take him – Flynn might have a bit more meat on his bones, but Yuri was pretty sure it’d be a fairly even match. Even so, it wouldn’t be a good idea. Not getting along with Flynn would be manageable, and something Estelle didn’t have to know. Giving him a black eye would be…less inconspicuous. Estelle probably wouldn’t talk to him for a week.

It was only after everyone cleared their plates that Yuri noticed he hadn’t participated at all in whatever conversation the other three were having, and instead had spent his time contemplating the consequences of punching Flynn in the face.

Estelle noticed something was off. “Yuri, are you alright? You haven’t said anything this whole time.” Her bright green eyes, wide with worry, stared straight into his and he instinctively had to avert his eyes. He couldn’t look at her when she did that. Judy did it too, sometimes, though a lot less often. To have someone bore into him with such concern in their eyes made him squirm.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he forced himself to look back and smile gently, “just a little out of it, I guess.” The answer seemed to satisfy her and she stood up, along with Judy.

“Okay. Let’s get ready for the beach, then!”  _Oh, that’s what I missed._  She and Judy began to walk back up the path to the house, and Flynn gave him a good hard glare as he stood up and silently, calmly followed the girls in. Yuri made a face at his back. He knew Flynn was miffed that Yuri had dampened Estelle’s mood a bit earlier, but honestly, the guy really needed to get over himself. Yuri made a mental note to ask Flynn just what the hell was wrong with him if he got a chance. He started to make his way to the glass doors, crushing petals under his shoes. Groaning, he passed a hand down his face. Flynn had been here for what, an hour, and he and Yuri already pissed each other off.

_What a great way to start a summer vacation._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! :-) <3


	2. Attitude Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I'm so sorry this took so long. Inspiration finally struck after a good four months or so. OTL

The drive to the beach in Yuri’s car was relatively uneventful, save for all his internal cringing at Estelle’s god-awful pop music. He and his friends normally took turns on radio privileges, and as much as he hated Cher Lloyd, he much preferred Estelle’s tastes over the headaches Judy’s screamo songs gave him.

Flynn behaved, played nice while the girls were around, but Yuri saw the ice in his eyes as they all walked out to the car, and then vanish as he looked away and climbed in the back. Yuri could feel those eyes through his seat while he drove. He chalked the innocent behavior up to being a rich boy trained like a _dog_ to have good manners. Flynn couldn’t bring himself to say a damn thing out loud, but he spoke volumes through those cold, blue eyes of his. It ticked Yuri off, but he wouldn’t comment on it. The last thing he needed was for Estelle to be mad at him in a cramped car, not two feet away, where she could pout and huff and make him feel guilty for thirty minutes straight. He shuddered at the thought.

Yuri almost wished Flynn wasn’t such a good friend to her so he could maybe tell him how much of a dick he was being, but quickly pushed that thought away. She deserved as many good friends as she could get. It was selfish for him to think otherwise.

But there was suddenly something, a spark within him right there in the middle of the road, in the middle of his thoughts, while his friends and Flynn laughed and talked amongst themselves. It was a thought that struck him, left him paralyzed for a split second as he drove.

He wanted _so badly_ to break that mask—take Flynn’s pretty poker face and smash it to pieces.

He blinked twice, asked himself what the fuck he was thinking, and focused on the road again. That was the second time he’d thought about fighting this guy he’d known for not even two hours already. _You’ve already pissed him off, what would it take to make him throw a punch?_ As much as he wanted to get rid of the thought, it bugged him over and over again along the drive. Maybe it’d go away by the time they reached the beach.

\--

_Well, so much for that._

Estelle was a blur the moment her feet touched the sand, grabbing Judy’s hand and racing as fast as she could towards the waves. Whether it was because the sand was burning her bare feet or she was just that excited, Yuri had no idea.

He and Flynn followed, quiet, tense. Yuri hadn’t forgotten about at least wanting to talk to the guy alone, but he wouldn’t drag him off the moment they got there. He’d have some fun first.

Two sandcastles and one fierce splashing fight later (and, of course, the back of Judy’s top “accidentally” coming undone at one point—Yuri outright cackled at how red both Flynn _and_ Estelle’s faces turned), he decided it was about time. The girls had ran off to buy ice cream a minute ago, and it was just him and Flynn, sitting there on the shore in that thick silence Yuri hated so much. The late afternoon sun bathed the beach in a rosy glow, a soft contrast to the azure of the waves washing up next to his feet. Maybe it would have looked romantic to someone passing by, the two of them sitting together, taking it all in. He couldn’t help laughing aloud at that.

“What?” Flynn asked, and Yuri looked over at his flat expression with a smirk.

“Nothin’. So tell me, what’s your problem? You’ve been trying to kill me with your laser eyes this whole time, and it’s a little creepy, man.” He was really trying to not sound accusatory, tried to drawl in the most casual way possible. It didn’t work. Flynn’s blank face shifted, his eyebrows raised, and he breathed a short scoff through his nose.

“What’s _my_ problem? I’m sorry, I’m just here to visit a friend. I thought it was you who had the attitude problems.” _Oho, is_ that _how it’s gonna be?_ Yuri’s pride got the better of him and he stood up, crossing his arms. Flynn did the same, took a step closer until Yuri could feel his breath. Fuck, if Flynn wasn’t such an asshole, he’d probably be turned on by that, and he cursed himself for thinking it and Flynn for being attractive.

“Why don’t you run that by me again, mama’s boy.” His smirk grew wider, eyes narrowed further when he noticed Flynn grit his teeth.

“Sure. You’ve got attitude problems. You seem to be incapable of being anything but a cocky jerk,” He reached over and picked up a strand of Yuri’s long hair in his fingers, “and that’s not all, princess.” Yuri was going to let the talking go on a little longer, but the princess comment was the last straw. His fist was raised first, but Flynn was quick, and he wasn’t sure who hit first but _god dammit_ , they weren’t supposed to fight in the first place.

He was vaguely thankful there was no one around to stop them or report them to the authorities because he was ready to let Flynn _have it_. The actual rational part of his mind told him to just back down, cool off before things got really ugly, but that look in Flynn’s eyes the moment Yuri tried to hit him, that sharp, calculating, split-second look that meant he was going up against someone who knew what he was doing sent a sick sort of thrill through Yuri’s spine.

They blocked nearly every blow sent flying at each other. Yuri had years of martial arts training under his belt, and it seemed he wasn’t the only one. He’d faced Judy in their classes together before, and she’d kicked his ass plenty of times (he went easy on her, okay—and maybe she could be a little terrifying sometimes), but Flynn was different. They were basically equals, just as he’d thought over lunch—Flynn was a little bigger but Yuri was faster, and he was determined to make Flynn eat the shit he’d just talked.

It was going pretty well, considering Flynn’s split lip, even if Yuri himself had a black eye. It was already starting to throb, but Yuri barely felt it in the heat of the fight. Flynn was the same, letting blood trickle down his chin, sweat dotting his chest, and Yuri ignored the way that made his body react, kept throwing punches even when Flynn started talking.

“You really know your stuff, Yuri,” he ducked, aimed for Yuri’s right side, “I’m surprised. I thought your abilities were limited to talking tough and sulking.”

“Oh, and I thought yours were limited to being a righteous asshole and getting everything you want, rich boy.” That made Flynn’s anger flare up, earned Yuri a bruise on his cheek.

“What the hell, you little _drama queen_? I’m not—” Whatever Flynn was going to say was cut off as Yuri gave him a sudden, hard shove, threw them both to the ground.

Judy, Estelle, and—whoever that third girl walking beside them was were coming back. He’d seen them in the corner of his eye and remembered that, oh yeah, Estelle was going to _kill them_ for this. How the hell could he have forgotten? Flynn looked even more pissed off than before, if that was even possible.

“What, do you wanna build a sandcastle or something?”

“Shut the fuck up for like, two seconds, okay? God. The girls are coming back.” Flynn’s eyebrows shot up, a flash of guilt crossing his features. “Unless you actually want Estelle to see you punching the shit out of me.”

They were close now. Estelle came running up, grinning, both hands holding ice cream cones, one of her arms linked with the tiny girl to her left. She was thin, with choppy, short mouse-brown hair, and looked sort of embarrassed, maybe confused. Yuri didn’t recognize her. Flynn turned around and they watched as her face fell from glee to horror. Yuri didn’t want to look over at Judy. He knew she would know they’d fought, and he really hated the way she looked at him when she was disappointed. He could never tell if she pitied him or wanted to dropkick him.

“Oh my gosh, you guys, what happened?” Estelle’s voice rose in pitch with every word and she rushed over, handing the ice cream cones to the girl Yuri didn’t know. She knelt down in front of them, took Flynn’s chin in her hand, inspected his lip. She let go of him and it was Yuri’s turn next; she lifted his bangs to get a better look at the black eye that, now that he wasn’t focusing on fighting, hurt like a _bitch_.

“What on _earth_ did you two do?” she asked, folding her legs under her, crossing her arms. She seemed content to sit right there on the wet sand and let her ice cream she was so excited to get melt until they gave her a good answer. She looked back and forth between them, and Flynn and Yuri looked at each other, neither knowing what to even tell her.

“Uh…” _Don’t lie to her, Yuri._ “We… were racing.” _For fuck’s sake._ “And we tripped over here.” He pointed at some shells and rocks a few feet away, probably collected by some kid whose mommy told him to leave them behind. “Fell on those.”

There was no way she’d fall for it. He already knew Judy wasn’t going to, and even that other girl was giving him a look that said, “Wow, idiot, how far up your ass did you have to look to find _that_ one?” Flynn looked like he was holding his breath. Yuri figured he didn’t want to deal with Estelle’s awful guilt-tripping either.

He felt relief wash over him as Estelle’s eyes widened, stared up at him like little green moons, and he knew she believed him. He instantly felt like a complete jerk for lying to her, but it seemed like the lesser of two evils here. She grabbed his hands, squeezed them.

“Oh, Yuri, that’s horrible! I’m sorry.” she said, and turned towards Flynn. “I got you two ice cream, though, so I’ll get you cleaned up, Flynn, and then we can all eat and go home. Okay?”

The three of them stood up, and the group made their way over to the few towels they’d stretched out on the beach earlier. Estelle rummaged in her tote bag for her small first aid kit—“As a future nurse, I have to learn to be prepared for anything,” she’d said when Yuri asked her why she thought she’d need it on a beach trip, who’d have known it would come in handy—and turned to Flynn to clean the blood off his face. Judy slung an arm over Yuri’s shoulder, leaned in close while he tried to eat his ice cream in peace.

“Falling in saltwater with all those wounds must have hurt an awful lot. You’ll have to learn to be more careful.” He turned to her with the most deadpan look he could muster, opened his mouth to reply, but she pressed a finger to his lips.

“I really hope you won’t try it again.” Yuri decided not to reply to that, went back to eating. He knew what she was really trying to say—“You try that again and I’ll punch your lights out before Flynn can even _try_.” Huh. Even if she was trying to intimidate him, he found that interesting. Considering how Judy hadn’t taken well to Estelle back when they’d first met her, she’d become awful protective now.

She backed off, and Estelle finished cleaning Flynn up. She cleared her throat and turned to the girl who still hadn’t said a word yet.

“Um, Flynn, Yuri, this is Rita. She was in some of my classes last year, and we saw her over by the ice cream stand, and since I knew her I invited her to hang out with us.” Her words were a little rushed, her eyes never leaving Rita, who glanced from her ice cream over to Estelle, and then away, off to the side. Yuri thought it was sort of cute, the way she couldn’t look at his friend, the flush on her cheeks. Yeah, pretty cute. Until she opened her mouth.

“The only reason I came with you was because I didn’t have anywhere else to be. Don’t think anything of it.” _Ouch._ And Flynn said _he_ had attitude problems? For some inexplicable reason, Estelle wasn’t even fazed by what Rita said. She just went on smiling, wrapped her arms around her tiny shoulders for a few seconds.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here, Rita. You should have a sleepover with Judith and I. It’ll be really fun!” She looked to her hopefully and Rita jerked back, her face even redder than before. She mumbled an “okay,” and Yuri snorted. Her glare was a lot less creepy and a hell of a lot funnier than Flynn’s.

By then, the sun had nearly dipped below the horizon, and they’d started rolling the towels up, grabbing their bags. Luckily, he had room in his car for one more person, and the girls all piled in the back this time. Flynn sat up front, and neither of them was really _happy_ about it, but after their fight, the tension had somehow just… faded. Flynn wasn’t trying to murder him with his eyes anymore; he actually looked sort of lost in thought when Yuri glanced over at him. Yuri didn’t really care to know what he was thinking about. If Flynn had decided to step off for now, he wasn’t going to complain.

The noise of the interstate, Estelle singing her heart out to Ariana Grande in the back, Rita occasionally yelling an objection to something, Judith’s quiet laughter, all of it drowned out of his ears, slowly, and he let himself breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rita's my favorite lesbian besides myself. Also, I love Cher Lloyd; Yuri can fight me any day of the week BRING IT ASSHOLE
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
